They reminded me of why Chan is one of cinema's great treasures, even if he's faded from the American movie scene in recent years. Ironically, before the first film a trailer for the upcoming John Wick sequel played -- not only does it look great -- but it also is a clear descendant of Chan's best work.
No one did action quite like him -- not just doing all of his own stunts, but using his whole body to both comic and kinetic effect at all times. Chan was not a muscle bound guy like Stallone or Schwarzenegger, in fact, he's pretty petite. Essentially he's a combination of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton who happens to be able to fight kung fu style very well.
Like a lot of Americans, for me Chan came out of nowhere in the mid-to-late 90s, when he first broke through as a mainstream performer with Rumble in the Bronx. Clearly, the Rush Hour films propelled him to the stratosphere, and folks like me started to delve into this earlier, more influential work.
The Police Story movies were always my favorite. While I appreciated the fight scenes -- that were both thrilling and funny -- in his Drunken Master movies, I felt like Chan was more entertaining and compelling in films set in a contemporary environment.
In both movies he plays a somewhat stock character -- the earnest cop who's effective but also accident prone and a pain his superior's ass -- but he plays the part with so much conviction and energy that the clunkier parts of the narrative (and the patronizing treatment of its female characters) is largely forgivable.What's remarkable about both movies is that somehow Chan managed to also direct them both (and in the case of the first movie, sing the theme song!). The infamous end credits show Chan meticulously rehearsing each trademark death-defying stunt (the closet corollary is Tom Cruise in the Mission: Impossible movies) and then sometimes trying and failing to pull them off.
Chan shed real blood on these films, as did many of his incredibly trusting co-stars and collaborators, and he does it all with the giddy delight of someone who must deeply love what he does.
He's made dozens and dozens of films like that before and after, not always at the same high level of production values and story structure -- but he still took the same giants risks with his own safety for the audiences' enjoyment.
For this, and so much more, Chan never get enough credit. Not only is he a stealthily good actor, but the physicality of his performance alone merits more appreciation. Performers like Chan almost never have a prayer of getting awards attention -- but I wish there was someone way to give him the Cecil B. DeMille award at the Golden Globes or some kind of honorary Oscar.
Because he's stepped back from making high octane action films here in the states, I fear his indelible mark on the genre has been forgotten. Hopefully the resurrection and restoration of two of his best films will help put him back in the spotlight where he belongs.
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